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CHRISTIAN
SINGLES
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CHRISTIAN
DATING ADVICE
CHRISTIAN SINGLES : GUIDE TO
ENDING LONELINESS AND DEPRESSION Cont.
Chapter 11. Facts About Depression You May Not Know
Past generations had another word for depression. They called it
melancholy, and they had a lot to say about it. John Keats, in his poem
Ode on Melancholy, writes,
“But when the melancholy fit shall fall
Sudden from heaven like a weeping cloud,
That fosters the droop-headed flowers all,
And hides the green hill in an April shroud,
Then glut thy sorrow on a morning rose.”
One could argue that melancholy doesn’t come from heaven, however,
in the agony Keats alludes to, we see an acceptance, a resignation to
it. Keats seemed to think that it was living life to the full to
experience both extremes, great joy and great melancholy. This may be
useful to the artist, writer, and poet, but for most people, depression
diminishes their quality of life. “The poor in spirit” suffer
needlessly, and lose precious time here on Earth, when they could “be
about the Father’s business.” Another example of Keats resignation
to melancholy was demonstrated in a letter he wrote to his brother and
sister in 1819:
Circumstances are like clouds, continually gathering and bursting….While
we are laughing, the seed of some trouble is put into the wide arable
land of events. While we are laughing, it sprouts, it grows, and
suddenly bears a poison fruit which we must pluck.
Let us be thankful that there are more positive voices today, calling
us to conquer our depression, pick up our bed and walk away, as Jesus
told the recipient of a divine healing to do.
Before leaving this chapter, I wanted to tell you about a good
website you can visit for much more information about depression: The
National Institute of Mental Health placed the following information in
the public domain and you are encouraged to share it with others. The
N.I.M.H. also gives help for people in severe crisis, and includes a
national hotline which you can call 24 hours a day if you are in a
desperate situation. Please reach out for help. Your life has purpose
and when you get over this difficult condition you will be able to be a
blessing to others, showing them how to get out of the abyss of
depression and loneliness!
To continue
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